Gabapentin (1-(aminomethyl)cyclohexane acetic acid) is an anti-epileptic drug that is currently available in 100 mg, 300 mg and 400 mg hard shell capsule as well as 600 mg and 800 mg tablet dosage forms, with recommended dosing of 900 mg to 1800 mg total daily dose in three divided dosages. The oral bioavailability is dose-dependent, with approximately 60% bioavailability for a dose in the range of 300-400 mg, but with only 35% bioavailability for a dose of 1600 mg (Bourgeois, Epilepsia 36 (Suppl. 5):S1-S7 (1995); Gram, Epilepsia 37 (Suppl. 6):S12-S16 (1996)). The decrease in bioavailability with dose has been attributed to carrier-mediated absorption (Stewart, et al., Pharmaceutical Research 10(2):276-281 (1993).
In early work with rats, Vollmer, et al., Arzneim-Forsch/Drug Research 36(1, Nr. 5):781-892 (1986) found that the absorption site for gabapentin was the duodenum. The absorption of gabapentin occurs relatively slowly with the peak plasma concentration occurring approximately 2-6 hours after dosing (Bourgeois, supra). The elimination of gabapentin is exclusively through renal pathways (Chadwick; The Lancet 343:89-91 (1994); Vollmer, supra; Thomson, et al., Clin. Pharmacokinet. 23(3), 216-230 (1992); and Riva, et al., Clin. Pharmacokinet. 31(6):470-493 (1996)) with reported half-lives of 5-7 hours (Chadwick, supra) and 6-7 hours (Gram, supra).
A once- or twice-daily dosage form of gabapentin would be expected to improve compliance and therefore a controlled release dosage form has some distinct advantages over the conventional immediate release formulations. In addition, a controlled release dosage form would lower the maximum plasma concentration, and this may result in reduced side effects. Since gabapentin is absorbed high in the gastrointestinal tract, by means of a saturable transport mechanism, a gastric retained dosage form is particularly beneficial for delivery of gabapentin since the dosage form would be able to keep the drug in the region of absorption and show improved bioavailability by virtue of the slower release rate that avoids saturation of the carrier mediated transport of conventional dosages.
Osmotic dosage forms have been described for delivery of gabapentin prodrugs. U.S. Pat. No. 6,683,112 to Chen et al. describes sustained release formulations that deliver gabapentin prodrugs by means of the push-pull osmotic pump system described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,612,008 to Wong et al. This system however, is not a gastric retained dosage form and would be expected to deliver the drug with poor bioavailability.